Dungeon of Wrath.
The first assault is currently underway.
“Huff, huff. As expected from a rank 9 dungeon!”
“We need to return to the checkpoint and replenish supplies!”
The awakened members of the European Union, who had just fought a giant mantis, gulped down precious potions like water to recover their stamina.
“Reporting. Zero casualties. Total items used: 267. Of those, 258 were crop items.”
“You sure used a lot. But thanks to that, no one was injured.”
“It’s really remarkable. Despite being in the dungeon for two full days, we’ve set a record of zero casualties.”
The man listening to the report nodded while eating a potato. His hunger was instantly satisfied, saving him time.
“It seems wise to return to resupply. Is there enough at the current checkpoint?”
“I believe so. Other than Bravo Team resupplying once, there should be plenty left.”
“Good. Let’s go back.”
At the entrance to the dungeon, a modern building had already been erected—a resupply base right inside the dungeon itself.
The awakened, who called this point the checkpoint, returned to recharge their supplies.
“By the way, we still haven’t managed to defeat any monsters.”
“It’s unfortunate. Reducing their numbers would have helped in our assault.”
“I never imagined that massive creature would be able to fly.”
“Has any team successfully hunted a monster yet?”
“We’ll check at the checkpoint.”
Though there had been no casualties so far, no team had succeeded in hunting even a single monster.
As expected from a rank 9 dungeon.
The monsters, with their strong defenses and exceptional evasion, would flee to the sky or into lava whenever the situation turned unfavorable.
As a result, the first assault team had only managed to gradually expand their search area, with no significant progress.
If not for Kyu-seong’s crops, the damage would have been devastating, and they wouldn’t have even been able to extend their search area.
The strategists at the checkpoint were fully aware of this.
“The item consumption is higher than expected.”
“The monsters’ combat abilities exceed our predictions. The rank 9 dungeon is stronger than we thought.”
“Awakened Kyu-seong’s items are also performing far better than anticipated. Without them, we wouldn’t have even been able to continue the exploration.”
The analysts were hard at work.
And they thought to themselves:
Can we really defeat the dungeon’s boss at this rate?
Of course, with enough time and money, they could eventually clear it.
Humans are a tenacious species and will find a way no matter what.
But immense time and money?
They might need several times more than they were currently investing.
“At least three years.”
Someone thought.
It would take at least three years to capture the boss monster of the rank 9 dungeon.
Considering the difficulty they were having with the self-replicating monsters, the possibility of defeating the boss and its guards anytime soon seemed slim.
In the end, all they could do was…
‘More of Kyu-seong’s crops!’
They would have to rely on money and supplies to hold out.
***
Ssshhh-.
The soothing sound of waves tickled our ears.
And here we were, casually gathered around, watching some fishing.
Tatatatat!
“Oh, we caught another one!”
“A tasty fish indeed!”
Currently holding fishing rods were my father, Mammon, and Ras.
Ara had already tried once and graciously gave her rod to the other kids, which was very sweet of her.
–Groan.
A fish was hooked on Mammon’s line.
However, Mammon, despite his poison abilities, had the physical strength of an ordinary goblin.
It seemed like a challenge for him to reel in the fish, but we watched without concern.
‘As expected, poison really is overpowered.’
Mammon had even used poison as bait.
It served two purposes: attracting the fish and sapping their strength when consumed.
Father and Ras had refused to use Mammon’s poison, wanting to enjoy fishing for its own sake.
But for Mammon, who lacked strength, the poison was essential.
Rrrrrr.
Mammon began reeling in the fish he had caught.
Even though the fish wasn’t resisting, Mammon was sweating profusely as he turned the reel.
Dodo-do-do!
Ara quickly stood up, holding a net, ready to assist.
As the fish Mammon had caught came close enough to reach the net, Ara extended her arm.
“Got it!”
–Hoohoo! That’s the second one!
Mammon wiped his sweat away and exclaimed in satisfaction.
However, Frey, who had been playing with a seashell on my shoulder, spoke up.
–But Father has already caught three!
–I… I can catch three too!
Although Mammon and Frey looked different, their behavior was just like that of siblings.
As I watched their adorable interactions, Ras’s fishing rod finally showed some movement.
“Oh, will he catch one this time?”
Ras had missed several bites already, as he was too quick to react, being new to fishing.
Given his strength, it seemed like he could reel in a catch with ease if he hooked one, but…
As soon as I thought that, the fishing rod suddenly pulled taut.
“Got it!”
“Oh my, oh my.”
Seon-ah and my mother watched Ras’s fishing with tense expressions.
Finally, Ras pulled with all his might…
Crack!
“Huh?”
An ominous sound echoed in the air.
I immediately stood up and rushed over to Ras.
Flap-flap-flap!
The fish had flown high into the air and then fallen back down, but beside it lay the fishing rod, tragically broken.
“Ah…”
Ras silently stood, holding the half-broken rod, and Ara gasped in shock.
“Oh dear. Ras, you must have been startled, right? Don’t worry, we can always buy a new rod. But look at the size of the fish you caught! That’s impressive!”
I tried to console Ras, and he looked up at me. His big eyes were already welling up with tears.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. We can just buy another rod.”
Oh no.
It seemed Ras was really shaken up.
I quickly gestured to Seon-ah to come over.
“Oh my, who made our Ras feel this way?”
As soon as Seon-ah saw Ras’s expression, she immediately hugged him. Ras, now quietly held in her arms, mumbled softly.
–Am I… unable to fish?
His voice, teary and soft like a baby’s, tugged at my heart.
“No, no! Look, Ras, there’s the fish you caught, isn’t there?”
–But I broke the fishing rod.
“That happens to everyone at first! Right, oppa! Didn’t you also break a few rods?”
“Y-yes! When I first started, I broke more than 10 rods!”
I waved my hands wildly, trying to keep Ras from feeling sad.
Seeing this, Mammon, who was preparing bait, suddenly approached and handed Ras his fishing rod.
–Use this, Ras.
–You’re giving it to me?
–Yes. I’ve already caught two. Let’s take turns.
–Mammon, you truly are a good companion.
Watching the heartwarming scene made me smile.
Who raised these kids? Hehe.
“Ras! I’ll teach you how to fish!”
–Very well. Ara, I shall learn your fishing techniques.
“Okay!”
The little ones soon gathered again, preparing for more fishing. Watching them huddled together, chatting and attaching bait, was too cute.
“Look at those little heads. So round and adorable.”
Seon-ah had pulled out her camera again and was busily snapping photos.
–Great Lord.
“Hm?”
At that moment, Frey called to me.
–Shall we try making a fishing rod ourselves? Something strong enough to withstand Ras’s strength.
“Can we make something like that?”
–If we combine forces with the goblins, I’m sure it’s possible. A fishing rod made entirely from metal! An unbreakable rod!
Ah, a rod made solely for strength!
Since we all knew about Ras’s incredible strength, the weight of the rod didn’t matter at all.
What mattered was that it wouldn’t break.
If that’s the case, using metal and following Frey’s idea to make the rod out of a solid piece might just work.
‘With a little help from Kkumuris and gnolls, we could easily make a fishing rod or two.’
Thinking about it, everyone’s strength was coming together.
An epic item was about to be born.
“Whoa, whoa! Be careful! Be careful, I say!”
The coastline had become lively again as the kids cast their fishing rods.
Meanwhile, my father, entirely focused on fishing, was concentrating solely on the water.
“Kyu-seong, next time we should set up tents here and have a barbecue party.”
“Why not bring it all over now?”
“Now?”
“Yes. It’s right next door, isn’t it?”
I pointed at the portal.
It was literally just next door.
While the kids were fishing, we gathered the ingredients for a barbecue party.
The main ingredient was fish.
You might ask, why fish for a barbecue? Because calling it a “fish party” sounds a bit odd.
“Oh! I caught one!”
–Finally, I’ve reeled it in without breaking the fishing rod! Praise me!
The kids were excited, especially since this time Ras managed not to break the fishing rod.
Meanwhile, Seon-ah, my mother, and I were busy preparing for the meal.
We chopped vegetables, made sauces, and set everything up.
I was in charge of cleaning the fish.
The fish were so big that it took a while, but since I’d done it before, I was faster this time.
–Huh? Why am I only catching small ones?
“Hehe! Tiny little things!”
With the kids’ laughter as background music, I finished prepping the fish.
The prep work always takes the longest, so now all that was left was cooking.
“Here’s the new sauce I made. I couldn’t add gochujang (red pepper paste), though.”
“Ooh.”
Sauce and sashimi go hand in hand!
I looked at the fish Mammon had caught. It was the size of an arm—so big that calling it small was a joke considering how large the fish here were.
This one would be perfect for sashimi.
I quickly filleted the fish and cut thick slices of sashimi onto a plate.
At this point, I could really feel how much my cooking skills had improved.
‘Hehe.’
Alright, while the rest of the dishes cook, let’s try the sashimi first.
I smeared some sauce on the sashimi and brought it over to my father. He glanced at it cautiously but then popped a piece into his mouth.
“Mm! Good, good. Bring me more.”
He nodded in satisfaction, clearly enjoying it.
But I had other kids to attend to as well.
I left a few more pieces of sashimi and sauce by my father’s side, handed a piece to my mother, and then went over to the kids.
“So, who wants to try it first?”
“Me! Me!” Ara responded right away.
I picked up five pieces of sashimi, almost overflowing the chopsticks, and put them into Ara’s mouth.
Her cheeks puffed up, and her chewing face was so cute.
“Mm! Mmm!!”
“Tasty?”
“Mmm!!”
It seemed like it suited her taste.
Next, I gave Mammon and Ras two big pieces each, and they eagerly chewed as well.
–So this is what raw fish tastes like!
–Delicious. Especially the sauce on the fish.
Their reactions weren’t as dramatic as when they had grilled fish, but that’s okay. The grilled fish my mother was cooking would be ready soon anyway.
“Maybe I’ll try a piece too.”
I dipped the sashimi into the sauce again, added a slice of chili from the sauce, and popped it into my mouth.
Ahh, this is the taste.
It was the kind of flavor that any sashimi lover would applaud with delight.
I’m not a fan of alcohol, but if I were, I’d be calling for soju right about now.
‘The texture is firm and bouncy, with a deep umami flavor. When combined with the sauce, it just explodes in your mouth.’
The fish itself was rich and fatty.
The sauce perfectly cut through the greasiness, adding a salty, spicy punch that made the flavor outstanding.
Soon enough, my mother had finished grilling the fish and preparing the braised fish.
With the freshly cooked rice we made, we had an absolute feast on our hands.
“Gulp.”
“Sss.”
Both Ara and I simultaneously swallowed, taking in the aroma of the freshly cooked rice.
“There’s plenty of rice, so don’t hold back. Eat as much as you want.”
Moved by my mother’s words, Ara shouted with wide, grateful eyes.
“As expected, the Great Lord’s mother is the best!”
“Oh my, our Ara speaks so sweetly.”
Ara, what about me?
Cliche Novel 